LA Rams trade WR Cooks and 2022 4th for Texans 2nd round pick

The LA Rams had to make a move and finally did. WR Brandin Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round pick for the Houston Texans 2020 second-round pick

The LA Rams were painted into a corner over their salary cap situation and had to make a move. They finally did. WR Brandin Cooks and their 2022 Draft fourth-round pick was traded to the Houston Texans for the Texans second-round pick. This was the piece the Rams needed to do, as the team had overcommitted on their 20202 salary cap and needed to free up space.

The Rams needed to get the yolk of those nuisance contracts off, and have done so. The surprise is that the Rams ended up with a second-round pick in 2020 by doing so.

We had plenty of discussions about moving Brandin Cooks. But in each scenario, the feedback from fans hinged on the assumption that the Rams could not get anything better than a fourth-round pick in exchange. The Rams did better. Landing a second-round pick in a heavy WR draft class has truly spun events in favor of the Rams now.

With seven picks, two second-round, two third-round, a fourth, a sixth, and a seventh-round pick, the Rams have the potential to truly improve the roster.

The Houston Texans have two second-round picks: the 40th pick from the Arizona Cardinals and the 57th pick of their own. It’s safe to assume the Rams will get the lesser of the two.  With the trade, the Rams will need to make just a minor additional move to free up sufficient cap space.  Some may view this as a bad move. But it gets the Rams out of a second bad contract.

And that is a good thing. Particularly in a draft loaded at wide receiver.